"Dead Man's Curve" on US 175, as seen in May 2010, is where C.F. Hawn Freeway (bottom, far right) curves sharply to become S.M. Wright Freeway (vertical line going north towards Dallas).

Just as an uneasy truce emerged Thursday over a proposed overhaul of S.M. Wright Freeway – and the wisdom of making the revamped road six lanes, instead of four – it appeared one final hitch might surface at the last minute.

That’s because South Dallas residents gathered at the project’s last public hearing noticed a previously overlooked detail: the re-do would eliminate the northbound Pennsylvania Avenue exit on nearby Interstate 45.

So while the $151 million project would get rid of the infamous “Dead Man’s Curve” and connect C.F. Hawn Freeway directly to I-45, allowing S.M. Wright to be rebuilt as a city street, it would also leave the area with only one northbound exit off I-45.

But then Dallas City Council Member Carolyn Davis stepped in, literally re-engineering the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans mid-meeting and telling the growing chorus of concerned citizens that “we’re not going to have that.”

“This should not – and will not – be an inconvenience to the neighborhood,” Davis said, as TxDOT officials and contractors started scrambling for alternatives. “We’re going to have [another] exit off 45.”

And it appears Davis – and those gathered at the Park South YMCA – could indeed get their wish.

TxDOT spokesman Mark Pettit said after the meeting that solving the exit problem was “feasible.” He added that restoring a northbound exit to the plan wouldn’t require another public meeting, keeping the project on schedule to begin construction next year.

“There are a lot of discussions going on right now,” Pettit said, pointing to a table where Davis, neighborhood residents and highway engineers crowded over a project schematic.

The project would already take the unusual step of tearing down a freeway that sees 80,000-plus vehicles a day and turning it into a city street. But TxDOT, with the support of Davis and other key leaders, proposed rebuilding S.M. Wright as a six-lane boulevard.

The road would feature landscaped medians, hike and bike paths and a 35 mph speed limit. But it would also account for the 50,000 cars that are still projected to use the road, even after C.F. Hawn’s traffic is mostly re-routed directly onto I-45.

Some residents, however, have said a four-lane road would be more appropriate, since it would leave room for development along the road and encourage drivers to come to South Dallas, rather than through it.

A few people again voiced that desire Thursday for a more comprehensive approach. But most in attendance seemed content with the six-lane plans, and some prior six-lane opponents said they had come around to the idea.

The Rev. Gerald Britt – who works for City Square, a poverty-fighting group – said Davis and U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, had allayed his concerns by promising redevelopment along Hatcher Street and other roads intersecting S.M. Wright.

“The caveat is that … increased neighborhood re-development becomes part of this process,” Britt said. “This project becomes one of the last opportunities we have to make a major difference.”

But new concerns swelled about the elimination of I-45’s northbound Pennsylvania Avenue exit, which would leave the northbound and southbound Lamar Street exits as the interstate’s only access points to South Dallas.

Getting rid of the exit has long been part of TxDOT’s plan, as it sits exactly where C.F. Hawn Freeway will connect to I-45. And TxDOT officials said they weren’t aware of prior public worries.

But speaker after speaker at Thursday’s meeting explained how getting rid of the exit would harm the neighborhood, further isolate residents from the rest of the city and add even more congestion to I-45.

“This would adversely affect our ability to access businesses and resources in the community,” said Terry Flowers, executive director of the St. Philip’s School and Community Center in South Dallas.

As more residents voiced their opposition, Davis quietly motioned TxDOT officials and contractors over to a large map of the project. They talked for a few minutes, pointing repeatedly to the exit in question, and then Davis took the microphone.

She explained the oversight, saying her focus had been on the S.M. Wright rebuild, and told the crowd she would talk more to TxDOT about the exit. But with some residents still nonplussed, she then pointed to Matt Craig, a lead project engineer.

“Matt and I are going to talk,” she said, as the crowd burst into applause. “We’re going to fix that, so we can get it right.”

TxDOT officials said later that saving the northbound Pennsylvania exit in its current form would be impossible, given the project’s other requirements. But they said adding an exit elsewhere wouldn’t necessarily be that difficult.

And the neighborhood residents who gathered Thursday night made their expectations quite clear.

“Council Member Davis, we’re going to hold you accountable,” Gloria Walls, 63, said as the meeting wrapped up.